While variable is not defined - wait

Question

I have a click event that is triggered from another place automatically for the first time. My problem is that it runs too soon, since the required variables are still being defined by Flash and web services. So right now I have:

(function ($) {
    $(window).load(function(){
        setTimeout(function(){
            $('a.play').trigger("click");
        }, 5000);
    });
})(jQuery);

The problem is that 5 seconds for a person with a slow internet connection could be too fast and vice versa, for a person with a fast internet connection, it's too slow.

So how should I do the delay or timeout until someVariable is defined?

Answer 1

With Ecma Script 2017 You can use async-await and while together to do that And while will not crash or lock the program even variable never be true

//First define some delay function which is called from async function
function __delay__(timer) {
    return new Promise(resolve => {
        timer = timer || 2000;
        setTimeout(function () {
            resolve();
        }, timer);
    });
};

//Then Declare Some Variable Global or In Scope
//Depends on you
let Variable = false;

//And define what ever you want with async fuction
async function some() {
    while (!Variable)
        await __delay__(1000);

    //...code here because when Variable = true this function will
};
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//In Your Case
//1.Define Global Variable For Check Statement
//2.Convert function to async like below

var isContinue = false;
setTimeout(async function () {
    //STOPT THE FUNCTION UNTIL CONDITION IS CORRECT
    while (!isContinue)
        await __delay__(1000);

    //WHEN CONDITION IS CORRECT THEN TRIGGER WILL CLICKED
    $('a.play').trigger("click");
}, 1);
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Also you don't have to use setTimeout in this case just make ready function asynchronous...

Answer 2

Here's an example where all the logic for waiting until the variable is set gets deferred to a function which then invokes a callback that does everything else the program needs to do - if you need to load variables before doing anything else, this feels like a neat-ish way to do it, so you're separating the variable loading from everything else, while still ensuring 'everything else' is essentially a callback.

var loadUser = function(everythingElse){
    var interval = setInterval(function(){
      if(typeof CurrentUser.name !== 'undefined'){
        $scope.username = CurrentUser.name;
        clearInterval(interval);
        everythingElse();
      }
    },1);
  };

  loadUser(function(){

    //everything else

  });

Answer 3

I have upvoted @dnuttle's answer, but ended up using the following strategy:

// On doc ready for modern browsers
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (e) => {
  // Scope all logic related to what you want to achieve by using a function
  const waitForMyFunction = () => {
    // Use a timeout id to identify your process and purge it when it's no longer needed
    let timeoutID;
    // Check if your function is defined, in this case by checking its type
    if (typeof myFunction === 'function') {
      // We no longer need to wait, purge the timeout id
      window.clearTimeout(timeoutID);
      // 'myFunction' is defined, invoke it with parameters, if any
      myFunction('param1', 'param2');
    } else {
      // 'myFunction' is undefined, try again in 0.25 secs
      timeoutID = window.setTimeout(waitForMyFunction, 250);
    }
  };
  // Initialize
  waitForMyFunction();
});

It is tested and working! ;)

Gist: https://gist.github.com/dreamyguy/f319f0b2bffb1f812cf8b7cae4abb47c

Answer 4

Shorter way:

   var queue = function (args){
      typeof variableToCheck !== "undefined"? doSomething(args) : setTimeout(function () {queue(args)}, 2000);
};

You can also pass arguments

Answer 5

The following will keep looking for someVariable until it is found. It checks every 0.25 seconds.

function waitForElement(){
    if(typeof someVariable !== "undefined"){
        //variable exists, do what you want
    }
    else{
        setTimeout(waitForElement, 250);
    }
}

Answer 6

I would prefer this code:

function checkVariable() {

   if (variableLoaded == true) {
       // Here is your next action
   }
 }

 setTimeout(checkVariable, 1000);